Overview

• The Justice Department’s June lawsuit challenges Chief Judge George L. Russell III’s standing order that imposes a 48-hour stay on deportations once a habeas corpus petition is filed in Maryland federal court.
• In an August 12 reply, the 15 judges labeled the administration’s action unprecedented and disruptive, invoking judicial immunity, the All Writs Act, and statutory limits on suits against judges.
• Assigned to out-of-district Judge Thomas Cullen, Wednesday’s Baltimore hearing saw him express doubt about suing the entire bench instead of pursuing appeals in individual cases.
• Russell’s standing order remains active and has applied a brief pause in at least a dozen deportation proceedings as the lawsuit proceeds.
• Cullen set a Labor Day deadline to rule on whether to dismiss the case or grant a preliminary injunction, a decision that could reshape separation-of-powers norms and court-management practices.